Witchcraft Prosecutions and the Decline of Magic.

The article presents an exploration into the social history of the 17th-century in regards to beliefs in witchcraft, the witch-hunt hysteria of the late century, and the significance in the decline of magical thinking. Details are given switching the paradigmatic focus from the allegedly self-evident rise of the Enlightenment and reason against magical thought to that of the independent decline of magical thinking during the era, particularly in the aftermath of the late 17th-century witchcraft trials of several nations.